Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Pottery and Propaganda

Today I'm posting about the Soviet Russian potter and artist Mikhail Adamovich. I knew that Soviet era social realism extended to monumental statues and murals but was not aware that it also extended into pottery as well. Most of these pieces seem to be functional dinnerware or perhaps pieces that well connected comrades would keep in their china cabinets for show or special occasions. Most of them seem to be either slip cast or made with a press, as the scale of production would have been too impractical for them to have been thrown, also they don't have the characteristic grooves. While they seem to be just a humorous novelty now, I'm sure they were anything but for those who had to live under the fear and hardships of soviet society. The detail, subject matter, technical mastery, and stylistic traits of social realism have always sparked my imagination, though one must not forget that all the modernists were probably mining coal in Siberia. There is something darkly humorous about finishing your bowl of borscht or a plate of kielbasa and boiled potatoes only to see comrade Lenin or comrade Trotsky staring up at you.